Philadelphia Hospital Shows Teens Gun Violence’s Graphic Consequences

By |February 7, 2013

Fifteen Philadelphia eighth graders gasped as a photograph appeared on a screen in front of them. It showed a dead man whose jaw had been destroyed by a shotgun blast, leaving the lower half of his face a shapeless, bloody mess, reports the New York Times. Next came a picture of the bullet-perforated legs of someone who had been shot with an AK-47 assault rifle, and then one of the bloated abdomen of a gunshot victim with internal injuries so grievous that the patient had to be fitted with a colostomy bag to replace intestines that can no longer function normally.

These are among about 500 gunshot victims treated each year at Temple University. The hospital is trying to slow the rate of street killings by helping teenagers understand the realities of gun violence. A program called Cradle to Grave, brings in youths from across Philadelphia in the hope that an unflinching look at the effects that guns have in their community will deter young people from reaching for a gun to settle personal scores, and will help them recognize that gun violence is not the glamorous business depicted in television shows and rap music. About two-thirds of the participants were referred by the juvenile justice system. Children younger than 13 are not normally admitted. So far, about 7,000 teenagers have participated since it began in 2006, and no parent has complained, said Scott Charles, the hospital's trauma outreach coordinator.

TCR's WEEKLY Criminal Justice Newsletter is FREE! Subscribe Here

Read Next

The Washington Post examines shootings of American children by telling the story of Carter Hill, a 4-year-old Cleveland boy who survived a serious gunshot to the head during a road-rage shooting in August. On average, 23 children were shot each day in the United States in . . .

TCR AT A GLANCE

Legislatures around the country are considering—and passing—bills to tighten rules governing the use of criminal informants. The “new wave of reforms” is long overdue for a practice that has historically been secretive and under-regulated, writes a University of California law professor.

The FBI says homicides rose nearly 9 percent last year over 2015, but a deeper look at the numbers suggests that a significant portion of the increase can be traced to individual neighborhoods in a few big cities.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, who has spent most of her career in family court, has emerged as the front runner to lead the 250-attorney office of the U.S. attorney for south Florida. She has no federal law enforcement experience but is supported by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott.